The Fair Seven
by white pedal
Summary: The retelling of the famous fairy tale Snow White. Serenity is the disowned princess of Black Dragon and is the fairest in the land. Her step mother, queen Medea, see's her as a threat to her own beauty and her daughter for her chances to marry the prince. When the huntsman helps Serenity escape, to Medea's horror, there are six other maidens who threaten her beauty also.
1. Prologue

_The sun is bright and Lilies are white, I love Serenity and I love Snow White. Enjoy._

_I do not own Yugioh or the fairytale except my OC._

* * *

Long ago, there was a land called the Black Dragon kingdom that was in a great depression. The king was an alcoholic who could care less about his people and was a very violent man; he struck the servants when he was angry, and when he was intoxicated he would go as far as to hit them with blunt objects as well as use his sword to try to kill them. He also started wars with other kingdoms because of his drinking problem and his people suffered greatly. His queen was worse. She seemed soothing on the outside but on the inside she was resentful and spiteful, her marriage to the king was an arranged marriage and it was an unhappy one. The king used to be a kind man but after he married the queen, because of her not wanting to be his wife, she verbally abused him and he started drinking to numb the pain, which was the main source of the kingdoms misery.

To make things worse, they had a son together named Joseph who had to witness his parents conflict. His mother despised him for binding them together and having his fathers appearance, but Joseph was a kind hearted boy and he ignored his mother's harsh words, and everyday he would strive to prove her wrong - that he was nothing like his father. One day when he was four, his mother gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with hair that was the color of the sunset, fair skin and innocent gray green eyes. Joseph loved her the second he saw her, and because everything became quiet and peaceful when she was born, he gave her the name Serenity, for she brought peace into his life.

Four years later, when prince Joseph was seven and his sister was three, he discovered a terrible secret that his mother kept from his father and himself. It turned out that the queen had an affair with one of the guards and that Serenity was not the kings daughter and was Joseph's half sister. The king was furious at the queen; the years of verbal abuse and her hatred of him burned in his soul but now knowing that she made a child with someone else became too much. He banished his former queen from the kingdom for her infidelity, and would have banished Serenity as well for being the queen's love child, but Joseph pleaded to his father to show mercy to Serenity, for she should not be punished for the queen's deception. Despite his negative feelings over Serenity for being another mans child, he decided to keep her in the palace; even though the children and the king did not have a relationship they could agree on one thing. The former queen had hurt all three of them deeply.

One year after the kings former wife's banishment, a neighboring kingdom wished to make an alliance with the Black Dragon kingdom. The king didn't want to go at first because he thought it was a waste of time, but when he saw the kingdoms ruler he was immediately enchanted.

The kingdoms ruler was a queen named Medea who was known for her incredible beauty. She had fire red hair that was curled and glossy, and light fair skin with a beauty mark under her right eye. She had Sapphire blue eyes that were filled with confidence, which had long eyelashes. She wore dark blue eyeshadow and her lips were painted red with lipstick. She had an hour glass figure and wore a tight green dress to show it and a gold tiara. The king was attracted to the beautiful queen.

It turned out that she had a daughter around Joseph's age named Miho. She had velvet hair tied in a ribbon and blue eyes like her mother. She was a cute girl but was very spoiled, selfish and shallow. She wore a yellow dress and had a cute smile, but if there was something she didn't like, she would demand for it to be taken away. Joseph and Serenity didn't like her, but bit their tongues, for the king was infatuated with her mother.

Then the unbelievable happened. The king and queen became betrothed.

Joseph and Serenity did not know how it was possible for the king to fall for the woman so quickly. She was a great beauty, but they never thought he would ask for her hand in marriage that fast, especially since he went through a failed marriage last year. Three months later the king and queen Medea got married, making her their step-mother and Miho their step-sister.

But on their wedding night tragedy struck. The king was found dead in the bed chambers with a knife in his chest. He had had twelve pints while he was waiting for his new bride and an assassin came in and finished him off. The next day there was a funeral for the dead king; Joseph and Serenity may not have liked the man, but they paid their respects, for he had suffered greatly from his ex-wife's rejection and betrayal that had led to Serenity's conception. He had at least been merciful enough to keep Serenity in the castle, even though he couldn't look at her without being reminded of what her mother had done.

The kings funeral was also the same day that queen Medea became queen of Black Dragon. That was when the prince and young princess saw her true nature. She was cruel and nasty to them and for some odd reason she hated Serenity the most. Miho became snobby to the siblings and would call Serenity the illegitimate princess since she was born from an affair and call Joseph a mutt. Queen Medea treated Miho like a princess and gave her everything she wanted while Joseph and Serenity were forced to be servants in the palace.

Joseph gave her the secret nick name Medusa afterwards for her hideous personality and from that day forward he protected Serenity from the wicked queen. And made it his goal to one day take back the throne and become the king the Black Dragon kingdom deserved.

* * *

_Stay tuned for chapter one. I want to thank The Imaginatrix for editing the story:)_


	2. Ten Years of sorrow and kind prince

_Now that you read the prologue, let the tale begin! And for some who are confused to as who Medea is, she is Chouno from Yugioh season zero._

* * *

Ten years had passed since the king died and Medea took over as queen. Needless to say, the situation in the kingdom was much worse now,, even worse than under the previous king's rule. Queen Medea's laws were strict and unfair to the point where the oppressed townspeople resented her because of her cruelty. While they admitted she was beautiful to look at, they simply could not stand the woman. For many years the kingdom had been in debt, as the former king had waged so many wars and used a considerable portion of the royal treasury to support his alcoholism, but when Medea had taken over she had done nothing about the problem. As the economic crisis in the kingdom increased over the years, so did her vanity. She was more concerned about her appearance than the kingdom and the peoples needs. She craved for the attention of the people, mostly men, to praise her beauty and if no-one did it, everyone would suffer. Instead of governing her kingdom she spent all of her time brushing her hair, trying on dresses and just admiring herself. Her narcissistic character also made many of the people living in her castle, including the maids, cooks, and even some of the guards turn against her in secret; they would have risen up against her, but she was too powerful to overcome.

As queen Medea was putting on her lipstick she smirked.

"I have once again achieved perfection. How grateful I am that the years did not effect my beauty."

Just then there was a knock on the queen's door. Medea became annoyed at the interruption. "Who dares disturb me!?"

"It is Miho, Mother!" said a young girl's voice. "I have something exciting to tell you!"

Medea's eyes widened and she smiled when she recognized the voice. "Miho darling! Do come in!"

The door was opened and Miho came in. She was now eighteen years old and over the years she had grown into a petite and beautiful girl, but her personality had not changed in the slightest. Her velvet hair had grown longer and was still tied in a yellow ribbon. She had a slender figure and her skin was fair. She wore a light yellow dress with white frills at the end with a green bow on the front. She had a broad smile on her face with pure excitement.

"Mommy! A prince is coming to Black Dragon! The royal messenger told me that the prince wants to make an alliance with our kingdom!"

Medea was surprised by her daughter's words. "Really? And why would he want to make an alliance with this disgusting kingdom, this place is a dump!"

"Miho doesn't know, but what Miho does know is that a prince is coming! This is the opportunity I've been waiting for, Mother, a prince to come to our land so he can fall madly in love with me and ask for my hand in marriage! Then when we get married I will become queen!"

Miho had had an ambition since she was little. She always wanted to become ruler of a rich and glorious kingdom with a handsome king by her side - she did not want to rule Black Dragon since it was a miserable land and it was always gloomy. Miho's plan was to find a prince who was the heir to a kingdom that was the most powerful and rich nation in the world, whose queen would be worshiped like a goddess.

Medea began to think it through. If her daughter were to marry the prince then not only would their two kingdoms unite, but if he had any money their economic crisis would be put to an end. She was getting tired of the people complaining about the lack of food and clothing and would do just about anything to shut them up. Miho marrying the prince was her golden ticket.

Medea grabbed her daughter and seated her in front of the mirror. If Miho was going to convince the prince to take her as his wife, she would have to freshen her up.

"Miho, there is a lot of work to be done if you are to make the prince become your husband."

* * *

In a carriage heading towards the kingdom there was indeed a young handsome prince. His name was Tristan. He was from the kingdom of Hiroto, which was rich in resources, from food to gold, after many years of trading with other lands. He had heard of the crisis that Black Dragon was going through and from the goodness of his heart, since he would soon become king, he had traveled to the kingdom to offer his assistance.

Prince Tristan was tall and built, with brown hair that was pointed at the front of his head. He wore a red shirt with puffy shoulders, a pair of white tights and black boots and a dark blue cape with it. His tiny gold crown was shining in the sun as he looked outside of the moving carriage.

"We are almost at Black Dragon, Your Highness," said a boys voice.

Along with the prince was his wing man Ryou. He was a kind and shy young man with long snow white hair, pale skin and innocent light brown eyes who wore a white long sleeved shirt with a green vest, with white trousers and brown boots.

Tristan looked at Ryou. "Thanks for the heads up, Ryou. It won't be long now before I can meet the queen."

"What do you plan to say when you make your offer to Her Majesty?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm willing to offer anything I have to help her kingdom."

Ryou had a concerned look on his face. "But you must be careful my prince. I have heard that for eighteen years Black Dragon was a dark place, not to mention the people there are..uh..cranky."

Tristan laughed. "Relax, Ryou. We're going there to help the people, and when they see what we will do for them they will be the happiest campers in the land."

"Uh...sure thing, Your Highness," Ryou said, although he held his shield at the ready as they entered the kingdom..

* * *

That turned out to be a smart move on Ryou's part. As Tristan's carriage entered the kingdom, angry villagers began to throw rotten vegetables at them. Tristan was dumbfounded by the villagers actions while Ryou was simply horrified. The villagers were cursing at them as they continued heading towards the queens castle and half of them were giving them dirty looks.

"They are in a really bad mood today," Tristan said.

The villagers then started to throw a slushy brown substance at the carriage. It smelled absolutely awful and the two boys knew immediately what they were throwing at them and shuddered.

"Monsters!" yelled an angry villager. "We don't need your pity!"

"Can't you see we have suffered enough!" a female villager shouted.

They continued throwing things at them throughout their ride through the village until they reached the castle. The prince and his friend were still disgusted and horrified by the villagers actions, and when they got up Ryou started breathing heavily.

"That was unpleasant." Ryou said shakily.

Suddenly two lines of soldiers came out of the palace and stood in position. The doors opened again, and this time, it was the queen who stood in front of them. Tristan and Ryou bowed down quickly as she came to them. Running behind her was Miho. She was in a light green dress and her hair was in a bun, with the addition of her wearing big diamond earrings. They stopped and looked at them.

"My prince, welcome to Black Dragon, I am queen Medea, but you may call me Chouno."

Medea held out her hand and Tristan got up to kiss it. Then Miho came beside her mother, trying to make herself look cute for the prince.

"I am princess Miho, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Tristan kissed her hand as well. "It's a pleasure to meet Your Majesties. I am prince Tristan of Hiroto. I heard of your land's crisis and I have traveled far to give you my assistance."

Medea clapped her hands together. "Oh how sweet of you! we do need help if you do not mind."

Miho looked over at the carriage covered in filth and was appalled at the sight. "What happened to your carriage!?"

Tristan rubbed the back of his head and flushed. "Well, when we entered your kingdom, the villagers..well they were um..."

"Say no more, my dear boy. My men shall have it cleaned and it will be good as new!" Medea said. "Now why don't you poor dears come inside and get comfortable, then we shall discuss business."

The two men went inside the castle while Miho and Medea grinned in excitement.

"Miho, this is our chance! the prince will finally get us out of debt!"

"I know!" Miho said, but then she frowned. "He's not that handsome though.." Miho looked at Ryou and smiled dreamily. "His friend, on the other hand, is gorgeous, but I can't throw away our chances."

Medea had a stern look on her face as she put an arm around her daughter. "That's righ,t Miho. I plan on suggesting that you two be married in order to help the kingdom and you must show that you are interested in becoming his wife. Having an affair with the white haired runt is not a good idea at this point." Medea smirked then. "But rest assured, my dear, when you become queen he will be so busy with being king he won't even notice that you are with the other man."

Miho's eyes grew big with joy and she cheered. "Yay! Miho will get the best of both worlds!"

"That's right, but you must convince the prince to marry you. I can only tell him about the idea but your actions must match my words and meet his interest in helping Black Dragon. I am counting on you Miho."

Miho clenched her fist and her face was serious with determination. "Right! Miho must do whatever it takes to convince him to marry me so I can become queen! Miho cannot mess this up!"

Medea smiled. "That's my girl."

Medea and Miho went back into the castle, and after they closed the door, someone popped up from the rose bush. The unknown assailant wore a black cloak and was short. The mysterious person had heard the queen and princesses plan and was not impressed one bit. The little person left the bushes and moved out to the palace.

* * *

_Who is this mysterious person? and how exactly will Medea convince Tristan to marry Miho? and who will they meet in the palace? That is all a secret;)_


	3. Cream Puffs, Cherry Blossoms and Wrath

_Sorry for my absence! Now on with the fairytale:)_

* * *

"And here are some more portraits of myself during my years in the grand council," Medea continued as the two boys followed her and Miho down the hallway.

Throughout the tour the queen talked about her life story, from how she was known to be a great beauty throughout her land to being part of an important council. Tristan and Ryou were already starting to get bored with her story but made themselves look interested so they wouldn't disrespect the queen, the maids looked over and saw the two handsome men and whispered to each other.

"What gorgeous boys," a middle-aged maid said in admiration "I heard one of them is a prince."

"I know, oh what I wouldn't give to actually marry one!" Said a younger maid.

Then they saw Miho running towards Tristan and Ryou, putting herself between them and holding their arms. The prince and his right winged man have sheepish smiles while Miho giggled.

The middle-aged maid growled "That Miho is such a spoiled brat! to think she is actually trying to get both of those boys in the palm of her hands, I swear one day she will become ten times worse than her mother! It won't be long now until she becomes even more crueller and more spoiled than Medea."

The younger maid nodded in agreement "Tell me about it, for ten years the queen only cared about her appearance and Black Dragon has become the bottom of the barrel, the people are suffering because of her growing vanity."

"While her daughter is flirting with the guards, the servant boys and is just as vain as the queen! and there is no doubt in my mind she is after the prince to finally get the opportunity to become queen. I remember that is was her ambition since she came into this castle when Medea married the previous king."

Miho starts smiling at Ryou, who was looking very uncomfortable with her being so close to him. Tristan raised an eyebrow in suspicion as to what the princess was up to and the maids continued to give disapproving looks at the scene.

"And they made the kingdom even worse, they believe they are the gems of this land!" The younger maid pouted.

The older maid, however, had a smirk on her face.

"They may think they are gems, but _she_ is a diamond in the rough. Those two are no match for her beauty."_  
_

The young maid blinked in confusion "Who?"

The older maid just smiled.

* * *

Tristan and Ryou are now sitting in the throne room with Medea and Miho. They were sitting on chairs given by the servants and a maid was bringing them their tea, Miho was making googly eyes at Bakura but was trying to redirect the look to Tristan. She promised her mother not to ruin her chances on impressing the prince have him convinced to marry her, she desired the white-haired boy but her lust to become queen was even stronger and she will do whatever it takes to get what she wanted.

"I must say your highness, you have quite a history in the grand council," Tristan says with a polite smile "So tell me, how is it that you became queen of Black Dragon?"

Medea suddenly started to get teary eyed and looked away "Well, ten years ago I met my darling husband when we were negotiating with our lands. He was a troubled soul, his heartless ex-wife was cruel to him and turned him into an alcoholic as it numbed his pain. He told me how she had betrayed him and we started bonding there and then, it wasn't long before we fell in love and became engaged within a year," Medea wiped her eyes "When we married it was the happiest day of my life. But it soon turned into a nightmare on our wedding night when my dear love was assassinated in our bedroom."

Tristan and Ryou gave her sympathetic looks "Your highness we are so sorry for your loss." Tristan says.

Ryou spoke "I cannot imagine the devastation you felt when he died on your wedding night."

Medea continued sniffling "It was a tragedy, and the kingdoms debt was so horrible even I couldn't do anything to help when I became queen."

Tristan smiled "And that's why I'm here, I heard of your crisis and I am ready to aid you in your kingdoms time of need."

Medea gave him a teary smile "Oh bless your heart!"

While the prince and his friend looked away Medea's expression darkened with a wicked smile.

_"This is perfect! That baboon prince and his white-haired Neanderthal friend are showing their sympathy to us! now all I have to do is suggest that he marries Miho and the balls are in our court!"_

They suddenly heard a loud thumping noise outside the door. The prince, Ryou, the queen and Miho looked at teh direction to where the sound came from.

"What was that?" Miho asked.

"Very odd." Ryou says.

Tristan got up from his chair "If you wish your majesty me and Ryou can go investigate the sound."

Medea clapped her hands together "Oh you two are so brave! aren't they Miho?"

Miho nodded in agreement "Mhm! we sure are lucky to have them protect us!"

"We won't be long." Tristan says, then Ryou and Tristan left the room.

Medea squealed "This is perfect! when he returns it will be our chance! I will make the proposition for him to ask for your hand in marriage Miho, then the rest will be up to you. Don't let me down."

Miho had a determined look on her face "I won't mother! the prince will be putty in my hands and I will be certain we will walk down the aisle by tomorrow!"

"Excellent."

* * *

Tristan and Ryou started walking around the castle looking for where that sound came from. Ryou actually looked relieved to get out of the room, he was very uncomfortable around Miho when she was giving him that starry look. He saw she was trying to show it to Tristan but she was directing it at him, but when she looked at Ryou he ended up seeing something unpleasant.

Lust.

"Tristan, I'm not so sure about the queen's daughter."

Tristan looks at Ryou with an arched eyebrow "Why do you say that Ryou? Miho seems nice, and she is pretty cute."

Ryou looks at the prince "I know she's cute...but there is something about her that sends shivers down my spine...promise me you will be careful my league."

Ryou started sniffing the air. What caught his attention was that the air had a sugary scent to it, it smelt so sweet that Ryou started after the direction of the scent and left the prince's side.

Ryou continued walking as the smell became stronger. It wasn't long until he found himself in the kitchen where the staff was busy baking their food for tonight's dinner, Ryou was looking around the kitchen and caught the attention of two women.

"Hello young man," says an elder woman with a smile "may we help you?"

Ryou scratched the back his head and blushed "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to intrude, but I couldn't help but follow the delicious scent that was coming from here."

The two women laughed "Well aren't you sweet," the other elderly woman said "I take it that you love food?"

Ryou nodded "Indeed I do, I smelt something that had the scent of sugar, and I think chocolate as well?"

The two women looked at each other, they started chuckling "Looks like Daiana's overdoing herself again." Said one of the women.

Ryou blinked "...Daiana?"

"One of our new chefs in the palace, she's young and takes things to the extreme when it comes to cooking."

"Oh really?" Ryou says "like so?"

"For one, the sugary scent you smelt? that was Daiana's cream puffs."

That sentence made Ryou go wide-eyed "Cream puffs!?"

One of the women nodded "Yes, She just made a batch this morning on the table right there."

The next thing Ryou knew, he saw a plate of cream puffs on the table. They were stock in a little mountain, filled with white cream ad to top them off they were covered in powdered sugar and melted chocolate. Ryou ran over to the table and stared at them with awe and amazement. Ryou loves cream puffs with a passion, they are his favorite food and would even chew off his own foot to get to them.

"They look...delicious!" Ryou exclaimed, he took one cream puff and he ended up eating it. He looked content and felt like he was in Heaven as he ate the sweet little dessert, he had never tasted anything so good in his life.

"You...you like it?" A girl's voice chirped.

Ryou looked around to see where the voice was coming from. When he looked behind he saw a girl, she looked around his age with light skin, she had raven black hair that reached the top half of her back with a worn out blue bow in it. She wore a white dress with a blue vest on top and her light hazel eyes beamed at the boy, Ryou blushed and swallowed the cream puff harshly.

The older woman smiled "This is Daiana by the way."

She stepped a bit closer but kept her direction away from him a bit "You really like them?"

Ryou nodded shyly "I do indeed."

She looked away"...No one has ever really complimented my cooking before...thank you."

Ryou looked at her and couldn't help but feel weak. He didn't know what was coming over him, but he knew he must say something to avoid silence between them.

"I'm still hungry, do you happened to have anymore cream puffs?" Ryou realized what he said and he immediately started apologizing "Oh I'm so terribly sorry! I didn't mean to sound rude, it's just that your cream puffs were so delicious that I couldn't help myself! I'm sorry!"

Daiana blinked "You..want more?"

Ryou flushed in embarrassment "..Yes, you see I adore cream puffs. And these are delightful."

Daiana started to turn red "Really? no one really liked my cream puffs, they said they are too sweet and would make them sick."

"What?" Ryou says in disbelief "That's absurd, this is the best cream puff I ever had!"

Daiana started to feel a smile creep on her face and her eyes started to get wide with joy. Ryou flushed again and started to twiddle his fingers together and looks at her with uncertainty but smiled.

"So Daiana...would it be alright if I asked for your permission...to have some more of your cooking?"

Daiana was surprised at first, but the nodded happily "Certainly, may I ask for your name?"

Ryou bow to her "My name is Ryou."

"Ryou...what an interesting name"

The women looked at each other with smirks "Looks like it's true what they say, he quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

Ryou and Daiana started giggling.

* * *

"Great, now I lost Ryou," Tristan sighed "Looks like I'm on my own now."

Tristan started walking out of the castle ad went out to the gardens. He decided to take a break from searching the mysterious sound and have his own personal tour of the castle, as he went through the gardens he saw tulips, roses, baby's breath's and bluebells.

"It's beautiful, to think the kingdom is in debt." Tristan says as he went to smell one of the flowers.

He stopped when he heard someone singing. He stood up and realized it was a girl's voice, he started walking into the direction and he heard the singing getting louder and louder, it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard in his life. It was soft yet strong, the melody was soothing and it wasn't long until he found himself in the isolated part of the gardens, and in front of him was a giant cherry blossom tree.

Tristan stared in awe at the tree as it loses most of its petals and flying into the wind. Tristan heard the voice coming from behind the tree and started to go around it, as he reached the to other side he froze.

He started to feel weak to his knee's and felt his heart stop at the sight he was seeing. He saw a girl of the age of sixteen, she wore a worn out dress covered in dirt but was flowing in the breeze. She had light skin that was glowing from the suns gentle kiss, her long auburn hair was flowing and was the color of the sunset and her green eyes were sparkling as she sang. When she finished her song she grabbed a cherry blossom and smelt it.

Tristan couldn't breath, he was enchanted by the girl, but the question is, who is she?

* * *

Two guards started going down to the dungeon room. They were heading to one of the cells to retrieve one of the prisoners they had for two weeks and prepare him for execution, as they went to the prison it reeked of sweat, blood and death and rats were scurrying everywhere from holes in the walls to the bones of dead prisoners. They reached the cell to see their prisoner.

The prisoner was chained to the wall and was severely beaten. He is tanned from head to toe but was covered by whip wounds and bruises from being tortured, he had a scar under his left eye that was old. He has velvet blue eyes that held anger and lust for vengeance, he shoulder length snow-white hair was a mess and was breathing heavily. He hadn't had anything to eat or to drink for the last four days and was struggling to live.

The guards smirked at the young man.

"Well looky here," says one of the guards smugly "it's the thief who thinks he can steal from the queen."

"Well peasant, you're about to face the consequences, you are about to lose your head!" The other guard said.

Suddenly the prisoner smirked "You two are quite determined to finish me aren't you? I assume it is because of your lust for the queen I take it?"

The guards looked at each other "What are you talking about thief?"

The man laughed "I can see it in you two, you two want to impress your pathetic ruler."

"How dare you speak of her in such a matter you lowly thief! queen Medea is the best ruler this land has ever had! and she is the most beautiful woman in the land!"

The prisoner started to laugh again "Best ruler and the most beautiful? don't make me laugh, you two may think she is a real beauty, but I should warn you what you two are seeing is false! seeing your land in such horrid shape proves to me that she is anything but a queen. You two are so blinded by her looks you fail to see she brought misery to you little kingdom."

The man looks up at the guards with a smirk."Besides, what makes you think she will even give you a proper thank you for decapitating me?"

The guards twitched "Enough! it's time that you pay for trying to steal from our queen!"

All three of them suddenly heard a scream of agonizing pain. The guards turned their heads and saw one of their fellow guards fall on the ground from the shadows, he was holding his arm and was bleeding from his mouth. The guards were in shock while the prisoner looked forward, emerging from the shadows was someone who was four feet tall and wearing a cloak.

"Who goes there!?" said one of the guards and they positioned themselves to fight.

The person removed the hood to show their face. It was a girl twelve years of age, she has dark brown eyes and volume dark brown hair but was red at the front, she had a scowl on her face. She wore a brown furred toga with fur boots and had bands around her rist's.

The guards started to laugh at her "It's just a mere child!"

The prisoner looks at the child and rolled his eyes.

"Well it's about time you showed up Amber." He said.

The little girl looks over at him "Shut your trap you six feet pile of horse crap!"

The guards stopped laughing when the child cursed.

The girl had pure rage on her face "You left without leaving a note and been gone for two weeks! do you have any idea how worried sick we were!? and to top it off I had to travel all the way here just to find you!"

"You're a tough kid, I'm sure it wasn't that bad Amber, I think you're over reacting." He says.

She exploded "Over reacting!? I had to travel here for two weeks! risking my life and stealing from a few nobles from here and there to be able to pay to eat and sleep at inns! and for the last two days to get here I didn't eat and sleep!?"

"Alright child enough of this," one of the guards says mockingly "Why don't you join your friend and go into the dungeon."

"Yes why don't you be a good little girl and-" The second guard didn't finish as he felt an intense pain in between his legs. The guard beside him was in shock as he saw the little girls leg in between his partners legs.

the prisoner just sighed "You just had to make her day even worse, you don't mess with a child who's hungry and tired." He said.

The guard went down and was blue from the pain, the other guard glared at the child and drew his sword.

"Why you little brat! I'll chop your head right here and now!"

The girl, Amber, gave the man a dirty look "You know what, I don't really care because I've had a really horrible two weeks looking for this idiot so somebody is going to pay. So it might as well be you bub."

Without warning Amber poked the mans eyes with her fingers, blinding him for a minute and she falcon punched him to the ground. He ended up bleeding from his mouth and nose and lost a tooth in the process, she took the keys from him and unlocked the prisoners cell and went towards him where she unlocked his chains and set him free.

"Thank you," he says rubbing his hands and saw the guards on the ground and smirked "Looks like you were in a bad mood."

Amber grabbed his ear, he winced "You're damn right I was! you left without telling me or Delilah anything and she was worried sick and thought you gotten yourself killed! just wait until I get your sorry tanned butt home! and you owe me big time for coming to your rescue Bakura!"

Amber let's go of his ear and rubbed it and growled "What about you? does she know where you are little missy?"

"I told her I was going to find you, and she told me when we get back you are going to be in serious trouble!"

Bakura looked around, he suddenly remembered something and went wide-eyed in realization.

"Well that can wait, there is something I need to get before our departure."

Bakura started running and Amber went wide-eyed.

"Bakura! wait! get back here!" She growled in frustration and went after him.

* * *

_Well now we know who the mysterious person was, but what exactly is it that Bakura is trying to get? and who is the beautiful girl who prince Tristan met?_


	4. The Fairest of Them All

_Hey guys! So KOK drew me a cover for the story (Thank you KOK:)) and I love it, I'm also getting some inspiration from other fairy tales and broadway. _

_Enjoy._

_P.S. I did post this chapter before but I felt it was too short, so for those who are reading this again I did make some changes and I hope you like it._

* * *

Medea and Miho were starting to get irritated for waiting for the prince and Ryou. They were gone for a while already and the queen and princess were beginning to grow impatient from their absence, they were gone for fifteen minutes and still had yet to return.

"Oh where could they have gone to!?" Miho whined "They had been gone for such a long time!"

"Oh I know!" Medea whined as well "How long does it take to find the cause of a noise!? a waste of time if you ask me."

Medea got up from her chair and stretched with a yawn "Well until they get back I'm going into my chambers," Medea looks at Miho "Miho, I want you to look for them and bring them back here if they do not return within the hour."

Miho nodded in determination "I will mama!"

Medea walked out of the throne room and shut the door behind her. She started walking down the hallway with her head held high with pride, the maids stopped cleaning and bowed as she passed by to show their respect, even though they don't.

When the queen reached her chambers she closed the door behind her and locked it. She collected a sigh and had a smirk on her face and walked towards her wall, there on the brick wall beside her bed was a giant oval-shaped mirror that was framed with gold and it had a dog like creäture of top of it.

But it was no ordinary mirror.

"Mirror mirror, on the wall," Medea chants "Who is the fairest of them all?"

The mirror started to glow. The glass of the mirror was starting to melt and it oozed onto the ground in front of her, when all the mirrors glass melted to the ground the silver goo started to form upwards and change. It formed muscular arms and legs and it for the head it was forming, it transformed into a seven feet tall tanned man with large biceps with long blonde hair. He had scars on his face and had a scowl on his face.

"You, queen Medea, are the fairest." He said.

Medea clapped in delight "Wonderful! Oh how happy you made me Anubis!"

"Of course my queen, a magic mirror cannot tell a lie." He bowed.

Queen Medea was hiding from the kingdom for years, including her deceased husband. For years she has owned a magic mirror that holds the truth of life itself, the man Anubis resides in the mirror and when Medea asks him a question he tells her the answers and Anubis must always tell the truth. But instead of asking about life and the world itself, she always asks the mirror who the fairest of them all is. The mirror will always answer yes.

Medea was spinning around happily until she sat down and took one of her expensive perfumes, she smiled smugly.

"A decade later and my beauty is still un-effected!" she started to spray herself "That is a new record!"

Anubis stood on his spot, he watched her laugh and he still had his permanent scowl on his face. He started talking again.

"However my queen, there is someone who has already surpassed you."

Medea chocked on her perfume and started choking violently when she heard his words. She stood up to catch her breath and looked at Anubis in horror.

"What did you say!?" Medea screeched.

Anubis closed his eyes "Behold, a lovely young maiden I see, and she is more fair than yourself."

Anubis continued to stand tall unfazed by the queens sudden anger. He knew she was going to react this way, he also has the power to see into the past, present and future, luckily for him he was prepared for the woman's temper tantrum and she threw a vase at the wall.

"How can this be!? I am supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the land! the whole world for that matter, who dares surpass my beauty!" Medea looks at Anubis "Anubis! reveal her name to me at once, no-show me on the mirror! I want to see who the girl is!"

Anubis closed his eyes and he started to melt back into silver goo. He made his way back to the mirror and started to glow, Medea glared at the mirror as she waited to see which unfortunate soul will suffer her wrath. When the image was clear Medea went wide-eyed in horror.

There in the mirror was a girl at the age of sixteen. She possessed long auburn hair flowing in the wind, her green eyes were twinkling at the sight of cherry blossoms being blown away, she was wearing a rag dress that blew in the wind.

_"Rags cannot hide her gentle grace and purity, her hair is the color of the sunset, her eyes are as green as the ocean, her name matches her serene nature."_ Anubis says.

Medea snapped "SERENITY!"

"Correct," Anubis continued "her beauty surpasses yours, her beauty is so rare she brings light to everything she touches."

Medea was on the verge of collapse. How can this be? she dressed the girl in rags for ten years so she would look horrible in comparison so her daughter would attract more attention from male suitors, and the mirror is telling her that the little wench is more beautiful than her? how dare she!?

Medea was in shock when she saw someone else come into view of her mirror. It was prince Tristan walking towards the girl, Serenity turned and was startled by the prince but soon relaxed as the prince apologizes for startling her.

"The prince is talking to that to that little slut!?"

_" The young prince seems to be taking a liking to her as well. They seem to be getting acquainted with each other."_

Medea started panicking "This is horrible! That brat has managed to surpass me with my rare beauty! and now the prince is taking an interest in her!? that little tramp will ruin Miho's chances at marrying the baboon and destroy everything!"

_"How do you plan to deal with the issue my queen?"_

Medea started to compose herself, she knew this was not the time to have a hissy fit. She looked in the mirror and was startled seeing herself as a mess, she started fixing her bun and started putting on powdered make up and finished off with putting on her red lipstick and smiled.

"Ah, much better," she put her lipstick down and turned away from the mirror and went to the window where she stared out into the distance "Well then Anubis, if that is the case I will change it myself. She will not be more beautiful than me and she will not stand in my way in arranging Miho to marry prince Tristan."

"_What do you plan to do?"_

Medea turned around with determination on her painted face "I'm going to do something I should have done when she was a child. Let's see how fair she is when she's dead!"

_"You plan to kill her?"_ Anubis asked in surprise.

"Yes, I will have her killed! I hated that little brat when I first met her, I knew she would become competition for Miho and I did everything in my power to make sure Miho is on top. But now that I know the prince can see through her rags she is a bigger threat than ever, I'm going to finish the job. I just need to make sure the prince and his pale companion don't discover my plot.

_"Fear not my queen,"_ Anubis says _"The boy Ryou is distracted by the second fairest maiden."_

"What!" Medea squealed in horror "There is another girl more beautiful than me! who is the other one!"

_"She has hair as black as the night, her chestnut eyes filled with innocence and has the sweet scent of sugar and spice."_

Anubis changed the image of his mirror and in front of Medea was Ryou sitting on a chair. He sat back and his stomach was swollen and was groaning from a stomach ache but was satisfied, Daiana was sitting next to him giving him an apologetic look and wiped his mouth with a napkin. They started laughing and were having a good time, while Ryou started blushing.

"The new chef! is the universe trying to drive me crazy!?" Medea glared at Daiana "Looks like Miho and I have some competition to cut, I'll have to kill that girl as well. No one will stand my way to be the fairest in the land nor stand in Miho's way to marry the prince to get this dump out for debt!" Medea walked away from the mirror and left her room.

In her bedroom however, someone was in her closet. Make it two people, the closet door opened and out came Bakura and Amber. They were both flabbergasted from what they saw, from the magic mirror talking to the queens plot to kill Serenity and Daiana.

"This is unbelievable!" Bakura says "That pathetic queen owns a magic mirror!?"

"How is it possible!?" Amber demanded "How did that wench get her hands on the most powerful object in the magical world!?"

Bakura looks at Amber "I don't know, but apparently Queenie there is using the mirror to target two girls who are prettier than herself," Bakura chuckled a bit "how quaint."

Amber narrows her eyes at the older man "So what are we doing here again may I ask?"

Bakura scanned the room for a while until he saw something shiny. He went to the other table and before him was necklace with a gold lace, and there was a purple stone on it that was neither too big or too small, he picked it up in triumph.

"I found it! now we can leave."

Amber was dumbfounded "That is what you were looking for!? a necklace! so I went through poison oak, getting shot at by guards and other thieves to come save your sorry butt because you were after a piece of jewelry!?"

Amber suddenly felt her cheeks being pulled on each side of her face. Bakura was pulling her cheeks with an irritated look on his face as Amber struggled to get out of his grasp.

"I don't need to hear a lecture from you girl, besides this necklace is going to be worth bringing back with me."

Amber had enough of his bullying and she stomped on his foot. He let go and held his foot and cried out.

"Ouch! that hurt you brat!"

"If you don't want me to do that again than don't pull my cheeks you jerk! and now if we're done here I like to get the hell out of this castle! I'm tired of babysitting you and having to deal with your stupidity!"

Amber walked away furiously while Bakura walked behind her and muttered angry words about the girl that should never be heard in public.

* * *

The prince bowed the girl "Forgive me, I didn't mean to startle you milady."

The girl smiled at him "Oh there is no need to apologize," she laughed "I don't think I ever seen you around here before. May you tell me your name?"

He bowed again "I am prince Tristan Taylor, I come from the land of Honda. I have a reliable source that said Black Dragon is in a crisis so I came here to help. May I know your name as well?"

She blushed but smiled shyly "My name is Serenity. am a servant here at the palace."

"Serenity...what a beautiful name." Tristan says.

"My brother gave me my name when I was born," Serenity says "He everything became calm and peaceful when I arrived."

Tristan looked at Serenity in amazement "Oh wow, then you must be really special."

Serenity turned pink from the princes comment, Tristan blushed and turned away quickly.

_"How can I say anything so stupid!? ah geez I embarrassed her! nice going!"_

"My prince, have you taken a tour of the castle?" Serenity asked.

"Well, the queen was showing us portraits of herself in her younger years. She didn't really talk much about the kingdom."

"...I see." Serenity said.

There was an awkward silence between them for a moment. Neither party knew what to see and they kept looking back and forth at each other, Tristan broke the ice.

"So you like cherry blossoms?" Tristan mentally sighed in relief.

Serenity looks at him in surprise "That's what they are called? I never knew that."

Tristan looked at her in shock "You didn't know those were cherry blossoms? how long have you had this tree for?"

Serenity began to think "For seven years I believe."

Tristan was dumbfounded, but his shock turned into sadness. This kingdom was so poor that this sweet girl probably couldn't get an education for herself, Serenity looks at him and smiled.

"But I didn't really care about the name," Serenity looks at the cherry blossom tree in awe "Because every year when they fully bloom it makes me happy. They are so pretty when they blow away into the wind, being able to flow freely and go where they wish," Serenity blushed in embarrassment "I'm sorry that must have been so silly of me to say."

Tristan smiled at her. "No not at all, you have an interesting way of thinking Serenity," Tristan gently took her hand "Say Serenity, would you do me the honor of showing me around the garden?"

Serenity blinked for a second, but smiled brightly "I be honored your majesty."

"Serenity!" Called out a demanding female voice.

Tristan and Serenity looked behind them, the prince was wide eyed and Serenity actually looked terrified. Queen Medea was in their presence and glared at the girl, she looked furious as she saw the prince with the scullery maid.

"Serenity! must you disturb our guest!?" Medea marched over to the girl.

Serenity stuttered "I'm..I'm sorry your m..majesty. I was just about to give him a tour and.."

"Enough!" Medea says "I will give him the tour, I want you to do something. I'm sending you and Daiana to the forest to pick some flowers for tonight's dinner party," Serenity was confused for a moment "Well girl what are you waiting for! begone!" Medea snapped.

Serenity bowed "Yes your majesty." Serenity ran off.

Tristan called out to her "I'll see you later Serenity!" Tristan looks at Medea.

Medea laughed "Forgive me if that scullery maid disturbed you. She is quite the little tart herself."

Tristan raised an eyebrow "A tart? she didn't seem like one."

Medea ruffles his hair "Oh trust me my dear boy, women are the masters of deception. That girl is as interesting as a wet carrot and as intelligent as the stuff you scoop out of a pumpkin."

Tristan looks at Medea funny "Really, I think she's beautiful."

Twitch.

Medea became too cheerful "I think you've been out in the sun for too long my dear!" Medea started pushing Tristan towards the direction of the door "Lets go inside."

Medea turns back as she saw Serenity continue to leave. How she hated the girl, suddenly a dark grin came onto her features.

_"Enjoy the meadows you little brat, because this is the last day you will be alive. You will NOT surpass me in anyway!"_

* * *

Oh boy:( be careful Renie, and you to Daiana.


	5. The Huntsman and the Threat

_Welcome back:) Enjoy. This is the longest chapter I've ever written and I'm quite proud of myself for that:) _

_Please R&R_

* * *

"Ugh, I don't think I can eat another bite." Ryou groaned as he held his swollen stomach.

Daiana started to rub his stomach and started apologizing "Oh Ryou, I'm sorry I didn't mean to give you a tummy ache."

For the last thirty minutes Ryou was eating all of Daiana's cooking. He was stuffing his face none stop with her roast beef, chop potato's, strawberries with cream, molten chocolate lava cake and her smoked ribs, Ryou looks over at Daiana with a weak smile.

"Don't apologize, I should have stopped at the strawberries with cream and ended it there," he gave a weak laugh until his stomach growled miserably and he groaned in pain and it alarmed the girl.

"Oh you poor thing." Daiana says and she bushes her fingers through his white hair and put her hand on his cheek.

Ryou blushed as he felt her warm hand on his face. He looks at her and she was smiling at him, her cheeks were a rosy color, Ryou felt a smile curl on his lips as he saw her brown eyes twinkling.

Daiana takes her hand off of his face and got up from the chair "I'll go get you some water for you."

Ryou saw her leave to get a cup and fill it up with water as she hummed cheerfully. The sunlight shun through the window and kissed her face, she was still smiling and Ryou could have sworn she was glowing.

_"She is so cute,"_ Ryou thought _"she is the sweetest person I ever met, I don't think I ever met anyone who can bake a souffle to such perfection before and not break a sweat."_

Daiana turned to look at Ryou with a curious look and Ryou flushed again. Daiana smiled at him again as she came over with the cup of water, Ryou was still feeling ill so he couldn't take the cup physically in his hands. Daiana tilted his head back and he started to drink the water, it wasn't long until he finished and Daiana continued to rub his hair with a sympathetic look.

"You'll feel better in no time." She says assured.

Ryou closed his eyes and smiled "Thank you Daiana, despite the fact that I may have filled my stomach to the point of bursting like a bag full of silver. This was the most delicious meal I had ever eaten, you truly have a gift."

Daiana looked away "Well I can't say it's the best."

Ryou opened his eyes "It is, you are the best cook I ever had the pleasure of meeting."

Daiana looks at Ryou in surprise "You really mean it?"

Ryou nodded, he sat up and looked nervous as he scratched his face with his index finger.

"Say Daiana, there is something I want to ask you about."

"Yes Ryou?" Daiana says as she looks at Ryou.

Ryou gulped and he was starting to heat up "Well um..I was wondering..since we had such a splendid time, and your food was delicious. Maybe we can-"

"RYOU!" Exclaimed a female voice in a sing-song tone.

Daiana, Ryou and the other bakers in the kitchen turned their heads and they heard footsteps. It wasn't long until Miho was at the entrance, the chefs muttered silently and while the women rolled their eyes.

"I've looked all over for-" She froze as she saw Ryou on the chair with Daiana standing over him.

Miho's eyes were wide and her jaw dropped as she saw the two of them. The shock vanished and was filled rage and jealousy, she marched towards them.

"Chef! what is the meaning of this!?" Miho demanded.

Daiana winced back "What do you mean?"

Miho snarled "I mean what are you doing with Ryou!?" Miho looked at the table where the food Ryou ate was, she glared at Daiana "You fed him your disgusting food! how dare you do such a thing!"

Miho cupped Ryou's face with a concerned look "Ryou I do apologize if this woman made you sick. Rest assure it will never happen again."

Ryou blinked "What?" Ryou got up from his chair and out of Miho's grip "No her food didn't make me sick. Well it did but it was because I ate too much! she didn't do anything to me honest!"

Miho shushed Ryou "Please, you don't need to cover for her. She needs to face the consequences for her actions for what she did."

Ryou tried to speak "You don't understand prince-"

"By the _chef_" Miho interrupted Ryou and sounded disgusted "My mother wanted me to tell you she wants you to go into the forest with Serenity and gather flowers for tonight's party."

Daiana gave a "oh" and bowed "Yes of course your majesty, at once."

Daiana moved passed the princess and Ryou quickly. Ryou called to her.

"Daiana!"

Daiana stopped and looked back at him, Miho looked at Ryou in disbelief.

Ryou smiled "I'll see you later?"

Daiana blinked, then she smiled "Of course, goodbye Ryou."

Ryou waved at Daiana as she left. He stopped waving and just stared out into space with a dreamy look on his face, Miho looked back and forth until she put the pieces together and began to worry.

_"Oh no! Ryou actually likes the baker girl! I have to do something to make him forget about her or else he will never fall in love with me!"_

Miho was panicking. It was clear she is infatuated with Ryou, but seeing that he is staring off at the door and had a smile on his face Daiana was sure to win his heart. Miho was furious, she is a princess, beautiful and she has the money and any man would be crazy not to fall in love with her. Daiana is just a chef, a baker girl someone who is of low-class, what can that girl possibly offer Ryou?

In Miho's mind, nothing.

She wrapped herself around the white-haired boys arm "Come on Ryou, Miho will show you a great time!" she said cheerfully and started to drag Ryou out.

Ryou was very uncomfortable around Miho. She was pushy, demanding and how she talked to Daiana was very disrespectful. But Ryou remained silent for Tristan's sake to help Black Dragon and was going to stay polite, no matter what.

But in his heart he hopes to see Daiana again, Ryou was starting to take a liking to the girl and they could become very good friends.

* * *

Medea paced the floor in the throne room, she sent prince Tristan to the south end of the castle to the library to distract him. She waited impatiently for Serenity to be in the fields, and awaited for the baker Daiana to join her as well so they will be both finished off.

The door opened and Medea turned her head "It's about time you showed up!" she exclaimed.

The person in her room was a man almost seven feet tall, he has cropped blonde hair that stood up and piercing blue eyes that were filled with anger. He was giant like with not only his abnormal height but he had big muscles to, he wore a blue shirt with a pair of brown gloves with a pair of gray tights and brown boots.

The blonde man held up a piece of paper and pointed at it "Well given that this note says to come here I couldn't ignore the invitation," he crumpled the note in his giant hand "And I also saw that your men destroyed my house and I demand an explanation."

Medea huffed the man "I had to get your attention somehow, besides I heard of your reputation of being a huntsman in the area and I need your services."

The man glared at the woman "But you had to destroy my home for that?"

Medea snapped her fingers "Not only that, Raphael is it? I also heard you are a tough nut to crack."

Two guards were coming out of the door. The man Raphael suddenly went wide-eyed in horror and was pale, the guards were dragging a young woman with long brown hair and golden hazel eyes into the room and she was tied up and gagged, she wore a light brown dress with a green apron that was torn from being dragged. The second guard was carrying a little girl who was two years old, she had blond hair tied in pig tails and blue eyes like Raphael and was wearing a pink dress with white frills and she was also tied up and gagged.

"Rose! Sonia!" Raphael exclaimed in panic.

He tried to rush over to them but Medea stopped him.

"Not so fast my dear huntsman," she says and the guards put their swords against the woman and child's necks.

Raphael stopped and Medea smirked.

"Like I said, I heard you are hard to break. But when I heard you have a wife and daughter I made a wild guess and believed they would be your reason to do my biding."

Raphael gritted his teeth and gave Medea a terrifying look of pure rage "I have no idea what kind of sick joke you're playing! but you will release my wife and daughter this instant!"

"Before I do that my dear huntsman, I want you to do something for me." Medea says as she checks her nails.

Raphael tightened his fists "And if I refuse?"

Medea gave Raphael a warning look "You do not want to cross that barrier young man. Because if you don't do what I tell you, your lovely wife and sweet little girl are going to have an early grave, are willing to risk becoming a widow and having to bury your child before her time?"

Raphael looks at his wife and daughter again. Rose showed her horror in her eyes and had tears furiously running down her face while his toddler daughter was obviously scared to, Raphael was horrified and scared for his family and he doesn't want any harm coming to them. Seeing that there are no other options, he knew he was defeated and had no choice but to give in.

"What do you want me to do?"

Medea smiled "That's better, there are two little pests that I want you to take care of. I already sent them to the fields outside the kingdom, I want you to go to the fields while they are picking flowers. And kill them."

Raphael was shocked "Kill? look your majesty you may not know this but huntsmen hunt and kill animals not people. I am not a murderer."

"Well my men will be if you don't do it." Medea says as the guards pulled Rose's hair making her yelp and the other guard lifted the sword at the toddler making her cry even harder.

"Alright!" Raphael exclaimed "I'll do now stop hurting them!"

Medea waved her hand at the guards and they stopped. Rose and Sonia were sobbing. Raphael felt dizzy but was relieved they weren't screaming in pain anymore, he looks at Medea with a stressful look.

"I'll do it."

"Of course you will," Medea says "And I will give you two gold bricks as a reward when the job is done."

Raphael gave her a stern expression "I don't want the gold, I want my wife and daughter back, unharmed."

Medea sighed in annoyance "Fine very well," she walked over to a table and picked up a gold box with a heart in front of it and showed it to the huntsman "And to make sure you have proof that you did the deed. I want you to bring back their hearts in this box. Understood huntsman?"

Raphael was silent for a moment "...Yes your majesty."

"Good," she gave the box to the giant man "Now begone, and do not fail me or you will come back to your wife and child's carcasses instead."

Raphael got up and started walking to the door, he stopped and looked at his family. Rose gave him a sad look while Sonia was still sniffling, Raphael didn't want to do this, he didn't want to kill anybody. Why would he want to? but he had no choice, his wife and daughter's lives are on the line and he didn't want to lose them, Raphael felt a never-ending conflict in himself. This is against everything he believed in.

Raphael looked at them in grief "I'm sorry Rose, but I have no choice." Raphael left the room.

Medea put her hands on her hips with a smile curled on her lips "That was almost to easy. But still after those two are gone from existence I will once again be the most beautiful maiden in the land!" Medea laughed.

"I'm telling you its the wrong way!" exclaimed a voice outside the door.

Medea stopped laughing as the voices got louder.

"Amber I've been in this castle longer than you have so you shouldn't talk about directions!" exclaimed a male voice.

The door to the throne room opened and Medea saw a man with tanned skin, white hair and blue velvet eyes enter the room. He had a scar under his right eye and he was wearing a red sleeveless shirt, brown tights and black boots. He was wide-eyed when he saw her.

"Oh bullocks." Bakura says.

"Let me guess, that's not the exit is it genius?" Amber says sarcastically.

She stopped when she saw the queen. She was wide-eyed and her jaw dropped.

Medea stared but smirked and posed with an arm behind her head and her other hand on her hip.

"I know, my beauty seems to make everyone stare. Do you two like what you see?"

Medea is very confident in her looks, she believes her beauty is so powerful she can even stop an army. She was prepared for the compliments she will receive from them.

"Wow! is your face that ugly or did you teach your sphincter to speak!?" Amber exclaimed.

Medea was mortified, Rose started to laugh even though she was gagged.

Amber continued "I mean I know we seen you from behind, but I didn't know that it was a disaster in the front!"

Medea shrieked "How dare you speak to me in such a way! You shall be punished for your insults!"

Bakura started to laugh "What's the matter your majesty? can't handle the truth? Amber here is pretty observant and is honest."

Medea became infuriated "Enough!" she turned to the guards holding Rose and Sonia hostage "Guards! have this brat and barbarian beheaded at once!"

The guards left the other two prisoners, Bakura sighed and cracked his knuckles, he looks at Amber.

"You ready for another round Amber?" He asked her.

Amber held her spear and was preparing to fight "Yeah I guess, besides I've wanted to beat something down all day."

The guards drew their swords and started charging at them. Amber and Bakura started to fight them, Bakura punched one of them in the face while Amber and the other guard were sword fighting with her spear.

Medea was yelling at the guards to kill Bakura and Amber. She bit into a napkin from the rage.

Amber poked one of the soldiers in the eyes and punches them in the jaw. Amber looks around and found the woman and child tied up. She ran over to them and untied them.

"Are you alright?" she asked as Rose took the cloth off her mouth.

"It's terrible! that evil witch burned down our home and kidnapped me and my daughter! she threatened to kill us if my husband didn't go and kill two people in the fields!" she says in panic.

Amber nods "I know, me and the sack of hammers fighting those guys over there heard of her plans."

Rose looks at Sonia and picks her up "She told him to kill two people who are in the fields picking flowers."

Amber helped Rose untie Sonia and looks at Bakura "Bakura! we don't have any time left here!"

"Well we better get out of here," Bakura says "I prefer not to go back into the dungeon."

"You guys! come with us if you want to live!" Amber takes Rose while she held her daughter.

all three of them started to run. They were rushing through the hallways trying to escape the palace,they looked up ahead and spotted a head full of white hair and was held close by a girl in a yellow dress.

"What the duce?" Ryou says as they passed.

"AFTER THEM!" Yelled a guard as he led the others after them.

Ryou and Miho both blinked.

"How odd."

* * *

Daiana and Serenity were picking flowers, they were laughing and having a good time. From a distance a figure was starting walk up from behind them, it wasn't long until the girls noticed his shadow.

"Oh, may we help you?" Serenity asks him.

He had a giant dagger in his hand and looked at the young girls. They went pale and were in horror.

"Forgive me."

He lifted his daggers and the girls screamed.

* * *

_Cliffhanger! will Raphael kill them? find out in the next chapter_


	6. Mercy, The Escape and The Warning

_Looks like I have a lot of more free time than I expected. So the last time in the story Medea sent (threatened) a huntsman to go kill Serenity and Daiana, Tristan found Medea at her worst (holding a woman and child hostage and seeing a fight going on.)_

* * *

The mountains were damp and covered with the dark clouds surrounding the sky. The blood-red sky shot out lightning furiously into the earth, dragons were flying around fighting each other while most of them were resting from flying.

In the cave's within the guarded mountains were dark and misty. All except one which was inhabited, it contained a large black cauldron that bubbled green substances and it glowed in the darkness. There were shelves of books, toads and bugs in different jars and bottles.

A figure went towards the cauldron and opened a bottle, and poured it into the pot. The green substances suddenly turned red and was steaming, clouds started to form in the air. It formed pointed wings and a lizard like neck, sharp teeth and it let out a blood curdling roar.

"Looks like it's happening again," the figure says "After a thousand years the cauldron is acting up again." The figure walks towards the edge outside the cave and stares at the sky. The wind grew stronger and the figures hood fell off, it was a man in his early twenties with light blue hair, his eyes were odd as one is green and the other was a golden color. He glares at the sky as lightning shot out of the sky.

"I should of known, it's happening all over again. But this time..." The man clenches his fists.

"I will put an end to it myself."

* * *

Serenity and Daiana were hugging each other as they cried. Raphael stood over the two girls with the dagger, he was shaking as he saw the girls with fear in their eyes as they looked up at Raphael.

"Please don't kill us! we're begging you!" Serenity pleaded.

Raphael was starting breath heavily, so many emotions were flowing through him. He wanted to save his wife and daughter from the queens clutches, but seeing these innocent young girls crying and terrified reminded him of his daughter Sonia. He couldn't do such an act, especially since he is a man with values and has strong fatherly instincts to protect.

He drops the dagger "I can't, I can't do it!" Raphael started to have tears swell up in his eyes.

Daiana and Serenity look up at the man, tears still rolling down their faces but seemed calmer now that has dropped his weapon.

"How can I kill you two knowing that I'm a father and this is against everything I believe in?" Raphael shook "I'm sorry, I beg for your forgiveness."

Serenity wiped her eyes "Why were you going to kill us?"

"What have we done?" Daiana asked.

Raphael shook his head "You've done nothing wrong, I was ordered by queen Medea to kill you two."

Daiana was shocked, while Serenity ended up with a horror-stricken expression and felt her stomach get heavy.

_"Queen Medea wanted to kill us!? to kill me!? I knew something like this was going to happen someday, and this is just the beginning!"_

Daiana asked Raphael "Why did you agree?"

Raphael had a grief-stricken expression "I was forced to, when I came back to my home from hunting my house was destroyed. I found a note saying that the queen kidnapped my wife and daughter, when I got to the palace she threatened to kill them if I don't kill you two."

Serenity and Daiana were stunned "Oh you poor man, we're so sorry!" Daiana says.

"I should be the one apologizing for agreeing to do this, I wanted to save my family but seeing you two reminded me of my little girl and how I want her to have the chance to grow up into a young woman like yourselves. She's only two and Medea threatens her life and my wife's and I don't want to return to the palace to find them dead, she told me she would spare their lives in exchange for your hearts."

Serenity grabbed Raphael's hands "What is your name?"

He blinked "It's Raphael."

"Raphael, listen to me very carefully," Serenity says "I want you to find your wife and daughter and get out of here as fast as you can. Take your family somewhere far away so Medea won't find you, she is a very dangerous woman who won't rest until she gets what she wants."

Raphael nodded "Of course, but I can't go back to the palace empty-handed or else she'll know I didn't kill you. I'll need to find substitute hearts to put in this box to give to the queen," Raphael takes the red box from his pocket "If she see's hearts in this box she won't know you two are not dead and my family will be spared."

Raphael looks at the girls "You two must leave the kingdom at once, and don't ever come back. Run as far away as you can, I'll make sure she thinks you're dead so she won't come after you."

Daiana and Serenity didn't know what to do, but they both knew that the queen won't rest until they are gone from existence. They nodded.

"Alright, we'll leave. Please be careful Raphael, and I hope you rescue your wife and daughter." Serenity says as she kisses Raphael's cheek.

Raphael smiles "Thank you, be safe."

Serenity and Daiana started to run. The huntsman turns around and he saw a group of boars, it gave him an idea, he takes the dagger.

"You wanted two hearts your majesty, well you're going to get them."

* * *

Daiana and Serenity ended up running into the forest. It became dark and frightening as the young women ran for their lives, Serenity knew they couldn't stop running until they are far away from the queen as possible. Daiana and Serenity both tripped a couple of times but they had to keep going, their dresses were torn from the branches and fell into the dirt.

"How much further must we run Serenity!?" Daiana exclaimed.

"When we are as far away from Medea as possible!" Serenity says.

"Why does she want to kill us Serenity!?" Daiana asks "what have we done!?"

Serenity didn't say anything as they just kept running with Daiana. Suddenly Serenity slipped off from some mud and slid down the hill screaming, Daiana was horrified and went after her.

"Serenity!" Daiana called out.

It wasn't long until they were no longer in the dark woods and found themselves in broad daylight. The problem was they were on a cliff and Serenity slipped onto the edge and was hanging and Daiana was reaching out for her hand.

"Take my hand!" Serenity tried to grab Daiana's hand, but suddenly the edge started cracking. Serenity went wide-eyed.

"Daiana get back!" Serenity shouts "The ledge is breaking off!"

Serenity pushes Daiana away as it was breaking off. It wasn't long until it completely broke off and Serenity fell.

Daiana was horrified "Serenity!"

Serenity screamed as she fell from the fifty feet high cliff, disappearing as she continued falling. Daiana had tears swelled up in her eyes as she saw the other girl fall, she started to cry.

* * *

Serenity screamed until she landed into the deep waters of the river, the current was strong and she could barely swim to the surface. It wasn't long until she was pulled by the waters force and she ended up blacking out.

* * *

Raphael was walking through the hallways of the palace, he was nervous but confident at the same time. He took two hearts that belonged to the wild boars and put them in the red box, all he had to do was stay calm and give the queen the red box so he can get his wife and daughter and get out as fast as they can. He was thankful that he didn't have to kill the young ladies and that they escaped, but he was praying that the boar hearts will fool the queen so everyone will be spared.

Prince Tristan was walking down the hallway and saw the giant man and walked up to him.

"Excuse me," Tristan starts "but have you seen a girl? with long auburn hair, green eyes and she works here at the palace?"

Raphael went wide-eyed when Tristan described the girl. He knew immediately who the prince was talking about as he remembered Serenity and how she and Daiana ran. Raphael wanted to tell the prince but then he might tell Medea and the huntsman wanted to avoid the woman, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has to lie since the prince seemed like a very trustworthy young man.

After all, Raphael was a terrible liar anyways.

"I haven't seen her in the castle," Raphael went down to eye level at the prince "but if I were you, I leave as soon as possible."

Tristan blinked in confusion "Why?"

"...Because if you don't, you life and those around you will be in grave danger."

Raphael walked away as he carried the box, leaving the prince confused.

* * *

_Sorry it took me a long time to post it, Please R&R_


End file.
